Fridae

Gays and lesbians across China were left pleasantly stunned last evening by an unexpected report from national broadcaster CCTV which not only slammed award-winning actress Lü Liping (吕丽萍) for stoking homophobia, but also assured members of the LGBT community of their place in society.

The 5th Beijing Queer Film Festival was held from June 15-19 at different locations after the festival, which was scheduled to take place at an undisclosed location in the capital's Xicheng District, was forced to be cancelled.

Although a local newspaper reported that Huangpu police acted after receiving complaints that the bar was staging sex shows, the claim has been vehemently refuted by everyone present on the day, according to the Shanghaiist blog.

Police in Shanghai on Sunday raided and detained at least 50 patrons of a new gay bar on the Bund. Kenneth Tan reports from Shanghai, China.

The Singapore pastor who was called up by the Internal Security Department for his offensive remarks has apologised personally to the Buddhist and Taoist federations but he shouldn't stop there, says blogger Kenneth Tan who noted that he had preached falsehoods about gays linking them with paedophilia and bestiality in a video which was online as early as July 2009.

It is estimated that there are about 40 million homosexuals in China today. In part two of this series, Kenneth Tan goes on to examine the issues surrounding the fight against AIDS among men who have sex with men (MSMs) in China.

While the world's media spotlight continues to zoom in on China and its seemingly unstoppable economy, a public health threat of potentially catastrophic proportions looms over China.